


Made of Flames

by cometchained



Series: Always Return to Me [2]
Category: Free!
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-25
Updated: 2015-04-01
Packaged: 2018-03-19 12:37:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3610365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cometchained/pseuds/cometchained
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Australia is far from Iwatobi, and Rin feels the loss significantly.</p><p>But a surprise guest means that maybe it's not such a big distance after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In Which Rin Texts

**Author's Note:**

> This is a partner story to my other fic, Finish Line, but they're meant to be read separately! Reading them all just gives a little insight as to what's going on elsewhere in the Free! world.

"Hey, Rin! Are you paying attention?"

The answer to this question, shouted from across the pool, is a definite _no._ Rin is not paying attention, at least not to Coach Jules' insistent hollers. Instead, he's busy squinting at his phone, attempting to figure out the truly mysterious phenomenon that is Yamazaki Sousuke texting.

**_Yo. You still on for Skyping later?_ **

_y def L42it_

It's a good thing that he knows Sousuke so well, because to anyone else it might look like just a bunch of gibberish; random numbers and letters all shoved together meaninglessly. To Rin, however, who has spent the past year learning how to break this truly intriguing code, he sees an actual reply, which is:

_Yes, definitely. Looking forward to to it._

"Hah!" says Rin, with a little wiggle of satisfaction as he grins down at the phone - which a second later is snatched from his fingers, mid-text back. Rin's eyes slide upwards until they land on the pale brown eyes and auburn colored hair of his coach, who is normally pretty cheerful. This time, however, Coach Jules is glowering at him with the force of a thousand suns, and Rin squeaks a little and topples back off of the bench, landing somewhat painfully on his backside on the concrete of the pool's deck area. Jules straights, snapping the phone shut.

 _"Rin,"_ she says menacingly, her accent thick, and for a thin, middle-aged woman she certainly knows how to be intimidating. _"Stop texting and get in the pool before I ban you."_

He knows better than to argue, merely lets out a little peep of agreement before slinking over to the edge of the deck. Practice apparently started ten minutes ago in the Harold Hoult Memorial Swim Center, where Rin's team meets regularly - except Rin was slightly too preoccupied with deciphering Sousuke's message that he hadn't noticed. He tries not to let the nostalgia get to him; it's been hard being the only one as far away as he is. Sousuke, Makoto and Haru are all in Tokyo, while Rei and Nagisa are still in Iwatobi. It's only Rin that's here in Australia, far away from the rest of them, and although he'd never admit to it, he misses them all quite terribly. Sousuke most of all, because Sousuke is his best friend and partner in crime, but there's something to be said about the lack of Nagisa's incessant chirping and Makoto's endless patience. Rin would even take Haru's annoying stoicism right about now, because in spite of having the time of his life swimming with a team that he likes very much, he is still a little lonely.

In the lane just in front of him, Andrew and Paul are laughing, and one row over, Jackson is shaking his head in amusement.

"Who were you texting, anyway?" the latter asks teasingly, as Rin slides into the water, the feel of it cool and reassuring against his skin. It's a welcome relief from the mess of thoughts inside of his head. "You got a girl back in Japan that you haven't told us about yet?"

"Shaddup," Rin retorts (maturely), but he's smirking, reaching over to give Jackson's shoulder a playful shove. "Not like you could get a girl yourself, no need to hate on me for my popularity."

The two of them squabble amicably back and forth until the whistle sounds, and then Rin is snapping his goggles back on over his eyes, tugging the cap down securely in place. Even with his internal struggles, swimming has always been something that Rin prizes, that he cherishes and treats as preciously as though it's an actual living thing. So far, nothing can take the place of it, and as his arms pump back and forth, searing through the water, it's a lot easier to lose his thoughts and just focus on moving forward, on letting go and just sinking in and becoming one with it.

Oh jeez, he's turning into _Haru._

**************************************************************

Rin's apartment is small - so small, in fact, that it barely has room for both a kitchen and a living room, and the bedroom isn't even really a separate room so much as it's just a secluded area off to the side and pardoned by most of a wall. It doesn't really bother him; he's used to sharing spaces, after all, and he doesn't have a lot of things anyway, just a few scattered personal belongings here and there. The majority of Rin's things are still in bags and suitcases, seeing as how he both hasn't had time to unpack and laziness had prevailed when he _had_ had time. 

Four weeks he's been in Australia now, almost five. The training is rigorous, as he expected, but Rin relishes in it, revels in the heat and the burn and the ache of his muscles at the end of each practice. Haru may not care for the intensity of this sort of thing, but Rin loves it, has always loved pushing himself to the limit when it comes to swimming. It's the only thing that he finds to be steady, the only thing that he immerses himself fully into each and every time. When he's swimming, he can forget that he comes back to an empty apartment, forget that he's thousands of miles away from everyone else.

Here and now, that's all he can think about.

Rin takes a shower and spends a good hour in it, mulling over thoughts he'd rather not. He came to Australia to chase a dream, a dream that he's managed to actually _catch,_ and he loves it, he does, but there's still that feeling of loss anyway. There aren't any regrets so much as there are wishes; Gou has always told him that he's surprisingly sentimental when it comes to things, and Rin never wants to admit it, because it's embarrassing and he hates that side of himself, but it's grudgingly true, anyway. He has good friends here, people that he hangs out with and that he eats dinner with, but it's not the same. Nagisa drives him crazy with his ramblings, and Rei is a little weird - kind, but weird - and Haru is frustratingly silent all the damn time, but if Makoto is there, he can translate for him - and even thinking about them and their ridiculous shenanigans, Rin can feel a little smile forming on his face, the water sliding down his neck.

He really needs to get out of the shower before he turns into a prune.

A towel is slung around his neck, Rin using one end of it to rub at his hair when the phone rings. He meanders over to the kitchen counter, where he's left his mobile, and picks it up, sliding a thumb along the screen to view the message sent.

It's from Sousuke. Rin's heart leaps a little in his chest, out of excitement or curiosity or a mixture of both, he's not sure.

_r u rd 4rtk_

_More gibberish,_ Rin thinks fondly, rolling his eyes, but he knows what it means, in spite of it: _Are you ready for our talk?_ He puts the phone down and reaches for his laptop instead, to flip it open and get Skype loaded up - but before he can do it, before he can even so much as press the power button and boot anything up, the phone rings, the _Pacific Rim_ theme song echoing loudly in the small room. Rin blinks at it with a split second of confusion, and then snatches it up, pressing a button and then lifting it to his ear.

"Sousuke?"

"Hey, Rin."

Just the sound of his voice is reassuring, familiar, _warm._ Rin can feel some of the tension easing out of his shoulders, and he sinks down onto the little couch, breathing out a sigh of relief. 

"Ya jackass, I thought we were gonna Skype, not call," Rin chides, and Sousuke's gentle laughter echoes in his ear. Fuck, he's missed that sound, missed just having Sousuke around all the time. It was bad enough that they'd lost contact during those missing years while growing up, and a part of Rin can't help but feel like they deserve more time to just get to know each other again. He had one school year before they departed, one year to cram several years' worth of memories into; and now Sousuke's working a job at a pool in Tokyo, while Rin's here in Australia, feeling isolated and cut off from the rest of the world.

(He can't admit he's lonely, that's pathetic, he's on top of the world right now with his swimming career and he's got some awesome friends.)

"I know," says Sousuke, and his deep, even voice that's so familiar it almost aches. "I was going to Skype, but there's something I wanted to tell you, and it's better said, I think, this way."

Rin puts his feet up onto the table and gets comfortable. Then takes them off again, because Sousuke always tells him that he's gonna scrape the wood. Then he puts them back up again and sighs, exhaling a long breath.

"How was practice?" Sousuke asks, and Rin gives a little snort.

"Fine, 'cept Coach Jules got pissed at me for texting during it," he says, a smirk flitting across his face, in spite of himself. He wishes he had a beer to nurse the pangs in his chest, gets up, and takes one from the fridge, reminding himself that he'll restock it later. _"Someone_ is just too lazy to spell out real words, so I had to do a bit of sleuthing."

"Texting takes too much effort," says Sousuke, sounding faintly amused. "You know this by now, Rin."

(He does, of course. He also knows that his chest seems to flutter a little whenever Sousuke says his name, but he doesn't know why, isn't sure he even feels what he's feeling.)

"Yeah, yeah," says Rin, waving a lazy hand as he pops the tab on his beer and takes a long swallow. "You're just a fuckin' lazyass, let's be real here."

Warm laughter echoes across the line, and Rin wants to take that laughter, bottle it up and store it safely for a rainy day when he needs it the most. There is just something so solid and soothing about Sousuke that makes Rin want to learn about him more, even with their shared childhoods. He cradles the phone between his head and shoulder, stretching out a hand to pick absently at one of the bracelets on his wrist.

"That may be true," Sousuke is saying, and his voice sounds a little strange. Rin drops the bracelet and straightens a little, a frown tugging at his lips. "But all that aside, Rin, I have something I want to tell you."

"Did you do something stupid?" Rin deadpans, with a roll of his eyes, and Sousuke laughs again _fuck_ what a beautiful sound it is.

"No, I did not. But, well, Rin I - "

A burst of static reverberates throughout the line, echoing loudly into Rin's ear and startling him so much he nearly drops the phone, letting out a string of swear words. At the same time, the doorbell rings, and a scowling Rin gets to his feet, dropping his towel so that it lies around his neck again and putting his half drunk can of beer onto the coffee table instead.

"One sec, Sousuke, someone's at the door, I can't hear you - "

He fumbles for the knob, which is stuck, cursing because he's still hearing static on the phone, Sousuke's voice wavering in and out and and sounding far away and distorted.

 _Like the rest of my life. What else is new?_ Rin thinks sullenly, and he drops the phone by accident as he finally manages to wrench open the front door, the phone clattering noisily onto the floor and spinning away. Rin just screams internally, closes his eyes briefly, sucks in a breath, and finally turns to face the visitor, an expression of annoyance on his face.

"Whatever yer sellin', I ain't buyin,'" he starts to say, and then his jaw drops nearly to the ground, astonishment flooding into him, and Rin feels suddenly very, very idiotic.

"Good thing I'm not selling anything," Sousuke says lightly, his crystalline blue gaze resting squarely on Rin's stupefied face, a bag slung over his good shoulder, the hand not holding the bag strap tucked into a pocket of khaki pants. "I am, however, looking for a place to stay, so maybe you can be the one selling and I can be the one buying."

Rin thinks he's probably going to need a lot more than one beer.


	2. In Which Rin Sulks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin gains new insight, talks about Things, and is basically a big ball of emotions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always imagine Rin swears up a storm.
> 
> Also there will be chapters from Sousuke's POV too, but it's harder to write for him than it is for Rin, so those will be a little more sparse.

"The fuck are you doing here?" says Rin incredulously, demonstrating, as always, his ability to turn any wondrous situation into a slightly more sardonic one; but thankfully, if there is anyone that is used to his antics, it is _Yamazaki fucking Sousuke._

 _Yamazaki fucking Sousuke_ who, at the current moment, is standing in front of Rin's doorway with a bag over one shoulder and a smile on his face and those stupidly bright blue eyes blazing even brighter, if that's even possible. Rin feels a strange sort of twisty feeling in the pit of his stomach, but he's too busy staring at his best friend, a stupefied expression on his face, mind working to sort out the picture that's currently in his head. Except the problem with this is that Rin's brain seems to have gone into overdrive, and all he gets are scattered words and images that blend together in one giant mess.

Sousuke. Door. Australia. _Blue._ Bag. Sousuke. Japan. Phone call. _Blue -_

A snapping noise drags his attention back to the moment at hand. Sousuke is bent over slightly, fingers an inch away from Rin's nose, a smirk on his lips; a smirk that Rin knows is only meant for him, because he can count on one hand the number of times that Sousuke has actually smiled for other people.

"Wake up, Rin," he says, and leans back, lowering his hand. Rin slowly begins to come back to earth, his mouth stretching in amusement, teeth snapping together, because really, only Sousuke would pull a stunt like this: showing up out of the blue and and knowing that Rin will let him in. And that Rin will basically do almost anything for Yamazaki Sousuke, because there is no one that he trusts more for in this world, not even Haru. His friendship with Haruka Nanase is much stronger than it used to be, but something much deeper runs through the veins of his relationship with Sousuke.

Or maybe he's just looking at things weirdly, as he's been prone to do.

"I'm awake, ya bastard," Rin snarls, but he's smiling so widely that it completely overtakes his attempts at being sulky. "You just came outta nowhere and expected me to know what the hell you were doing, thanks a fuckton."

Sousuke just stands there, looking down at him with his stupidly blue eyes and his stupidly tall height and Rin can feel some of the tension that he's been holding in his shoulders begin to ease, can feel some of the loneliness that he's been feeling ebb, just a little. A part of him is still trying to work around the fact that Sousuke is really here, that Rin is no longer alone here in Australia, isolated from the rest of the people that he cares for the most. He hasn't understood just how frustrated he's been until this moment, until he's faced with a way out of it, because Sousuke is _here,_ right in front of him, and holy _hell_ he's missed him so much it's an almost physical ache, his stomach tying itself in knots, his chest tight; but it's a good kind of ache, it's a _familiar_ kind of ache.

Six weeks is fucking forever. Six weeks is a fucking _lifetime._

He doesn't realize he's lapsed into silence, staring dumbly at Sousuke, until the latter speaks.

"Rin. Are you gonna let me in?"

"Huh? Oh!"

He takes a hasty step back and Sousuke steps across the threshold, his bag falling from his shoulder to land with a small thud on the ground. He glances around the small apartment, taking in the minimum space, the lack of personal effects or decorations, and then slowly pivots to face Rin again, who is still beside the door, looking a little hesitantly at his best friend.

For a few seconds, there isn't anything but silence that stretches between them, and then -

_"Hah!"_

Their silly little handshake is easy enough to remember, easy enough to fall straight into, and by the end, Sousuke is laughing and Rin is grinning, reaching out to clasp the other's shoulder; and for the first time in six weeks, Rin thinks maybe, just maybe, he could feel at home here in this little apartment in the middle of nowhere.

********************************

They're sitting side by side on Rin's sofa, beer in hands, and Rin is feeling more relaxed and comfortable than he has in ages.

"You coulda told me you were coming," Rin grumbles, almost petulant, and Sousuke lets out a small laugh, resting an arm along the back of the couch.

"I didn't even know I was actually going to be able to come until two days ago," he says, sliding a sideways glance towards him. "I had always planned on coming with you to Australia, but I needed a reason why other than to support you, even though I would do that anyway. But you can't make a living off of just trying to help someone achieve their dream," Sousuke adds, eyes glinting with a bit of mischief, and Rin's stomach does that annoying twisty thing again (he quickly ignores it, pushes it away, focuses on the story). "So I did a bit of research and made a few calls and here I am."

"So..." says Rin slowly, trying to understand this. "What sort of research are we talkin' about here?"

Sousuke gives a little shrug. Rin's eyes go to his injured shoulder, very briefly, before they return to his face.

"Turns out your coach was looking for a new manager," says Sousuke, and this time his smile is more of a smirk as he turns to face Rin again, an almost playful tone in his voice. "So I've been chatting with her a bit, and now I'm here for a trial period, to see if I fit the bill."

Rin just stares (again). Then -

"Are you shitting me?"

A snort passes through Sousuke's lips. "No," he says, and Rin can almost hear the rolling of his eyes as Sousuke takes another swig of his beer, leaning back comfortably. "But I figured, since I won't be doing too much swimming anymore, I want to be able to do something that'll make me happy, that'll still put me where I want to be. You're here, and I figured, well, what the hell? I'm not gonna get very far if I don't do _something,_ and I'll drive myself crazy trying to figure shit out, and then the job posting came up and I saw it as a door opening."

Rin can't believe what he's hearing. Sousuke isn't just here for a visit, he's here to _stay -_ he's here because he wants to support Rin, because he wants to be there for him, because he made an effort to find a job that would take him to where Rin was, and that alone makes Rin's heart clatter noisily against his chest, so loudly he's afraid that Sousuke will hear it. No one has ever gone to the lengths Sousuke has to keep Rin elevated, and it's a feeling that Rin wants to keep selfishly for himself, carry it within him, warm it up and let it seep through his veins.

(He's an idiot. He's a really big idiot, and he pushes away any stray thoughts, tamps down on the emotions that threaten to rise in his throat.)

"Sousuke," he says finally, and to his eternal embarrassment, Rin feels a tiny pricking at the corners of his eyes. He blinks them hastily away, annoyed at his own sentimentality and mentally cursing Gou for reminding him that he is a fountain of emotions that overflows at the most inconvenient of times.

But Sousuke, who has known him since childhood, merely gives him a gentle smile and reaches over, poking fingers against Rin's forehead.

"Don't give me that look," he says. "I told you this is what I want. I had to give up one of my dreams, but the other is seeing how far you can go."

Rin sniffs. Loudly.

"Idiot," he mutters, and Sousuke's hand falls away from his face.

"Talking about yourself again?" he asks, and Rin's scowl grows more pronounced, but he slumps down into the couch and props his feet up on the coffee table. A second later, Sousuke's heavy hand falls onto one of his knees, pushing his leg gently but firmly down.

"You're going to scratch the table," he says, and Rin smirks, batting his friend's fingers away and ignoring the warmth spreading out from where Sousuke's hand was. He takes a quick swig of beer, downing the rest of his can, and resists the urge to deliberately put his feet up again, just to be obnoxious. There's a certain playful banter that accompanies his friendship with Sousuke, and it's making him feel very pleased. This is a side of Yamazaki Sousuke that rarely gets seen outside of the privacy of the two of them, and Rin greedily accepts all of it for himself, happy to have a special something just for the two of them.

"So," says Rin, tapping a finger idly against the can of his now empty beer. "How was Tokyo when you left it?"

Sousuke shrugs again. "Fine," he says lightly. "The pool knew I wouldn't be there for long, so it wasn't that hard to leave. I stopped by Iwatobi on the way before I left."

Rin inches lower on the couch. "Oh?" he says, but the feeling of pleasure is starting to dissipate.

Unfortunately, Sousuke isn't having any of his shit. "I saw Momo and Ai," he continues. "They asked about you."

Rin is now sitting so low he's in danger of sliding off the couch altogether.

"What about them," he mumbles, his face steadily reddening, because he kind of knows what's going to come next and he doesn't really want to hear it and _fuck his stupid sentimentality again._

"Mm." Sousuke's noncommittal noise speaks volumes. He clearly isn't going to say anything until Rin does, because he _knows_ Rin will cave, because he knows Rin better than anyone, and Rin just wants to sink deeper into the couch cushions and pretend like he doesn't exist.

"I may or may not have argued with them before I came here," he says, in a voice so low it's barely audible, but Sousuke hears him anyway, because he says, "I know. They told me that too. Ai was going on and on about _'Rin-senpai this'_ and _'Rin-senpai that.'_ Apparently he thinks everything is his fault."

Rin exhales a long breath, poking idly at the empty can in his hands. "He does that a lot," he grunts. "Ai has always had that whole guilt thing goin' on, but it wasn't really their fault anyway."

A pause.

"Maybe a little bit was Momo's fault, because he's a little shit, but that's beside the point."

Sousuke snorts, but he turns his head to look at Rin, and those blue eyes are boring into him, making him feel as though Sousuke is seeing right through him. "Don't lie, you love them," he says, and Rin really does roll his eyes this time, but he can't deny that in spite of all the times he's bickered and squabbled with Momo and Ai, they do mean a lot to him, more so than most. They've been as supportive and encouraging as they can, and the argument before Rin's departure makes him feel disgruntled and unsettled, because he's not used to fighting with _them,_ of all people. It's like attempting to fight with Makoto, or a giant teddy bear - there are some things that are just _wrong,_ and this is one of them.

He blows out a breath that ruffles his bangs. "I'll apologize to them," Rin says finally, and sighs. "Jeez."

Sousuke has lifted his beer to his lips. His gaze is forward as he says, "You love me too, right?"

Rin shifts his head, turns to look at his best friend, a smirk on his lips.

"Of course I fucking love you, idiot."

A smile graces Sousuke's face. The arm on the couch lifts, and he tugs on a strand of Rin's hair before smacking him none-too-lightly across the back of his head.

"OW WHAT THE FUCK - "

"For having such a hard apartment to find," says Sousuke mildly over Rin's yelps, pushing himself to his feet to retrieve the bag he's left by the door. "I think I got lost like six times on the way here."

"THAT'S YOUR OWN FUCKING FAULT - " Rin bellows, rubbing at his head, but Sousuke breezes past him and the little wall that separates the living space from the bedroom space. 

"Rin, where can I put my stuff?"

"On the CURB," Rin half shouts, but he's trying very hard not to laugh, and Sousuke is already pulling open drawers like he belongs in the apartment, like he's been here all along, moving comfortably this way and that. Rin is still sitting on the couch, and slowly he lowers his hand and leans his head against his arm, resting it along the back of the couch. His eyes are fixed on his best friend, and maybe, just maybe, things will start to be better now, things will start to be easier to bear, and he won't be quite as lonely.

(And maybe he'll figure out what the hell this annoying twisty feeling in his stomach is, but that's better saved for a later day.)


End file.
